waiting for a process of reasoning. The organs of speech should do their office with the same promptness as the fingers of the most skillful musician.

Pronunciation relates to the sounds of individual words; grammar to the selection of the words. It is of as much importance that we speak grammatically, as that we pronounce correctly; and accuracy in both must be the result of habit. If we wait till the child can comprehend the science of grammar, before we make any efforts to give him proper grammatical forms, it is pretty certain that he will never become an accurate speaker, or at least, that he will not become so without unwearied pains on his part. Habits of speech are in a great measure formed before the science of language can be understood, and these habits may as well be good as bad.

The ear then should be trained with respect to grammatical forms, and the training should commence with the entrance of the pupil into school. Indeed the judicious parent will commence long before. As soon as the child begins to talk or even to understand when others talk, so soon does his education in grammar begin. He does everything by imitation. If those about him use correct language, he will do the

He knows nothing about the "parts of speech," yet if his parents and others say those books rather than them books, he will say those. He knows nothing of agreement in number, or the relations of case, yet if he nevers hears others use faulty expressions, his language will be accurate.

Let it not be supposed that the systematic study of grammar is undervalued. It is because I esteem grammatical accuracy in spoken and written language of so great importance, that I urge its introduction at the outset of the child's course. Grammar has too generally been regarded as an abstract study, having nothing to do with the practical business of life. And many parents have wished their children not to study it. This prejudice is not at all to be wondered at. As often taught, grammar is of no use. It has been dissevered from spoken language. The teacher, it may be, could parse well enough, but could not speak a sentence without violating the principles of grammar. And he is all unconscious too of any inconsistency between his theory and his practice. Children trained under such teachers can have no idea of the real uses of grammar. They study the grammar book, without any idea of applying the principles there learned to the language which they are using continually.

Two things are necessary to bring this great department of educa

1

tion-language-to its proper place; one is, proper modes of instruction, when the study is systematically entered upon, and the other is, constant attention to the language used by the child from the time of his entrance into school. It is the latter only with which I am now concerned. To secure accuracy, the ear is to be cultivated. This organ is to be habituated to decide between correct and incorrect words. It is to be made so critical that a faulty expression cannot strike it unperceived. The error is to be recognized at once, and the child be able to give unhesitatingly the correct form.

It is a great error in many schools to keep branches entirely distinct. When a class is reading, then pronunciation is attended to; while in other recitations no notice is taken of mistakes. So in a grammatical recitation, there may be an exercise in correcting faulty syntax, but faulty syntax gets no correction at any other time. This is clearly wrong. If pupils are to become accurate in pronunciation, their mistakes must be rectified whenever they occur. And if good habits are

to be formed as to grammar, the ungrammatical expressions are never to be suffered to pass unnoticed. In this way alone will correct habits be formed. Of course this imposes great obligation on the teacher. The idea that anybody will answer for the teacher of a primary school is seen to be preposterous. The little folks need one to instruct them who is herself a model, who never makes mistakes, and who can detect them instantly in others. And no teacher ought to have a charge of a school, who has not such a standard before her, and who does not make continued efforts to improve herself.

Were children trained by those who are themselves good models, the use of correct language would become second nature to them. And when they entered upon the formal study of language, they would find it pleasing in the highest degree. They would be spared the mortification of finding their own practice entirely wrong. The investigation of the laws of speech would be more interesting from the conformity of their own modes to those laws.

In bringing this series of articles to a close, I may be allowed to express the hope that some hints may be gleaned from them that shall prove of service to the teacher. The principles advanced seem to me to be sound, yet they may not be. The whole subject of elementary instruction has received less attention than its importance demands. Many of our books on teaching ignore it altogether. A good manual for the primary teacher is a desideratum. It is much more difficult to lay down a chart for the progress of the child for the first two years,

than for its subsequent course. I hope the subject will receive more attention at our Institutes and in Educational writings. MARIETTA COLLEGE, May, 1854.

I. W. A.

School Statistics.

Perhaps there is no school where some statistics are not kept, but the kind and amount differ very much in different schools.

Of the importance of statistics it is not necessary to speak, as it is now generally well understood that no respectable school is without a record which shows all its principal features; such as the classes in each study, the character of each pupil's daily recitations, the number entered, number withdrawn, number remaining, average daily attendance, average daily absence, and average number of the quarter, or other stated period.

It has been suggested, that it might be profitable to some of the younger readers of the Journal to explain the method of keeping these records, and also the method of finding the averages. The method of keeping the record is, however, so generally known that a brief description will be sufficient here.

A blank book, or a suitable number of sheets of paper stitched together, must be procured. For the record of daily attendance, lines must be ruled horizontally, on which, or between which, to write the pupils' names. Lines must then be ruled vertically, so as to allow a column for each day of the week. In the vertical column for each day, and opposite the pupil's name, an oblique line (1) may be made to denote the pupil's presence in the forenoon. This line may be crossed by another thus (X), to denote the pupil's presence in the afternoon. Tardiness may be denoted by a small dot (·) placed above or below the cross, according as it happened in the A. M. or the P. M. By a reference to these marks, it then becomes easy to ascertain the whole number of days of absence in any given period.

A record of the recitations of each class may be kept similarly, except that some standard must be fixed upon as the credit mark for a perfect recitation. For this purpose the number 10 is preferred by many teachers, and suits well, as it is not necessary then to use fractions. At West Point, and many of the colleges of the U. States, the

number 3 is used, and the fractional division is carried as low as fourths.

It is not my purpose at present to discuss the manner of taking an account of each recitation. Perhaps I may do this hereafter. It is only necessary now to remark, that the pupil's absence should be marked in the class record by an a, and the character of the recitation by that figure which will express it, varying from 0 to the maximum. Supposing, however, that the teacher has an accurate record of the attendance of each pupil, how, at the end of a quarter, shall he determine the average daily attendance, average daily absence, and average number of the quarter? Of the number entered and number withdrawn, it is obvious that they are to be found directly from the record. For the sake of easy reference, I shall present the method of finding these results in the form of rules. It is to be observed, that 12 weeks of 5 days each are considered a quarter. It is also to be noted, that the sum of the average daily attendance, and average daily absence, is, necessarily, equal to the average number of the quarter.

To find the Average No. of the Quarter.

RULE. Add together the number of weeks (or days) those pupils were present who entered after the commencement of the quarter, or who left before its close, and divide the sum by 12 or 60, according as the weeks or days are used; the quotient will be the average attendance of those present only a part of the quarter. Add this quotient to the number present the whole quarter, the sum will be the average number of the quarter.

To find the Average daily absence.

RULE.-Divide the whole number of days of absence by the number of days in the quarter, the quotient will be the average daily absence. NOTE. It is proper to remark, that no days of absence are considered as pertaining to a pupil before he enters, or after he is withdrawn. To find the Average daily attendance.

RULE.-Subtract the average daily absence from the average number of the quarter, the remainder will be the average daily attendance. The reason of the rules is so obvious that they need no demonstration. They may be illustrated by the following example :

Suppose that in a certain school 32 pupils entered at the beginning of a quarter, and 2 afterwards, and that during the quarter 3 pupils were withdrawn. Of those not present the whole quarter, A was present 1 week, B 2 weeks, C 4 weeks, D 5 weeks, and E 6 weeks.

Also the whole number of days of absence in the quarter was 42. It is required to find the average number of the quarter, the average daily absence, and the average daily attendance.

1+2+4+5+6

12

=

1.5, av. attendance of A, B, C, D, E.

32-329, the number present the whole quarter. 291.5 30.5, the average number of the quarter. 4.7, the av. daily absence.

30.5.729.8, the av. daily attendance.

It is easy to verify the above results by first finding the average daily attendance. This is evidently equal to the whole number of days of attendance of all the pupils, divided by the number of days (60) in the quarter.

Making no deduction for absence, 29 pupils in 60 days

This article is already too long. At some other time, I shall make some remarks on the evidence which these statistics furnish.

CINCINNATI, May, 1854.

R.

"Understandest thou what

thon Readest."

thou

It has been well said, that "no class of persons require teaching so much as professional teachers," and I feel it to be true. We as a class must be progressive; we must learn to teach better than we ever have taught, or we are unfit for the station we occupy. Our first efforts, like the first efforts of the poet or painter, can only exhibit inklings of our capacity; and however successful they may be, we should never rest satisfied with them, but go on 'unto perfection.'

We should learn something new respecting our professional duty each day. One of the most important points, and one most difficult to ac